Pillar of the Boatmen

The pillars of Nautae Parisiaci (Eng. Parisian Seafarers), also known as the Paris Nautenpfeiler (French Pilier of Nautes ), is a monument with representations of various deities from the Roman and Gallic mythology. Through consecration inscription in the first quarter of the 1st century AD dated, it was probably originally in a sanctuary in the Gallo-Roman civitas Lutetia (modern Paris). It is one of the earliest examples of figurative inscriptions on Gaulish art ( Hatt, 1952).

Inscription

The Hauptdedikation called the Roman god Jupiter, followed by Mars, Fortuna, the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux, and Vulcanus. Of the Gallic gods Esus, the Tarvos Trigaranus be called ( " the bull with three cranes " ), Smertrios and Cernunnos. To various figures, and in particular the base piece is missing the inscriptions; they have become illegible in the course of time, or completely disappeared.

Dating can be the stele by the dedication to the Emperor Tiberius ( 14-37 AD. ). It is declared as a foundation of the Parisian boat people, so a sort of guild of the local Seine- Schiffer. The actual dedicatory inscription reads:

Translation: The Tiberius Caesar Augustus ( and ) to Jupiter Optimus Maximus have the Parisian Seamen ( this stele ) erected in public.

Now on the other faces followed by a series of names or titles, not all of which have been resolved. Interesting here is mainly one of the rare mentions of gods name Cernunnos. Also to be noted is the lack of interpretatio Romana, the reinterpretation of local deities as " manifestations " of Roman gods, in which the Celtic names are mere epithets of the Roman gods.

Eurises could possibly be a Gallic term for naming the donor. Senani or Senant is as little understood ( perhaps is the Gaulish root * sen " old " contained therein ), while the further reading u [s ] eiloni remains very uncertain.

Description

The column consists of a " pierre de Saint -Leu- d'Esserent " mentioned type of limestone, from Saint -Leu, Oise. In the original, they probably measured 5.24 m in height and had a width of 0.91 m at the base and 0.74 m at the top ( Saragossa 2003). It was originally composed of four blocks together, the vertical arrangement is quite clear due to their decreasing upwards thickness, whereas the specific arrangement of each block is unclear ( there are 64 possibilities ).

The uppermost block, of which only the upper half has come down to us, is in accordance with the inscriptions Cernunnos, Smertios, Castor and (due to the similarity to the Castor representation) probably represents Pollux, whose name is missing. Cernunnos is depicted with a short antlers to hang on to the two torques; due to the arrangement of his upper body - the space would not be enough to show him with outstretched legs - it can be assumed with some certainty a buddha -like posture, which also appears on other representations of the same God. From the Smertios depicted in profile is also seen only the upper body; the god holds in his right hand a kind of club and seems to attack a snake-like shape. The images of Castor and Pollux show both Dioscuri with a spear next to their horses.

The completely preserved second block shows Jupiter, Esus, the Tarvos Trigaranus and volcano. Jupiter is, in one hand a spear, in the other his thunderbolts. Eusus is displayed in the same position as probably Smertios, but he is holding in his right hand a sickle with which he makes to tamper with a wicker -like tree. The bull with three cranes is apparently between two trees, the same that of Esus frieze with two cranes and can be seen on his head on his back. Volcano is standing facing shown with his usual forging tools

From the third square in turn only the upper half is obtained, on which also the dedicatory inscription is located. What was in the lower part of the field described, is no longer to determine today. In two of the remaining three sides men are shown with shield and spear, of which one group beardless, the other, appears bearded headed EVRISES. Another group shows at least three people, one of which is commonly interpreted as a female, under the incomplete inscription SENAN which may extend after transcription indicated above.

The bottom block is wider than the top, again, do not have the lower half. On the four sides, two figures shown. The inscriptions have disappeared for the most part illegible or completely. Because of his helmet, Mars can be identified relatively clearly; he is accompanied by an unknown female figure. Fortuna standing next to an apparently armored spear once God, while Mercury and Venus are only clue as identified and their respective companions must remain unknown.

History of the stele

The Gallic city of Lutetia was still largely restricted to the Ile de la Cité. Caesar mentions in his Bellum Gallicum. In Gallo- Roman times created on the south bank of the Seine the forum and various temples. The column was probably standing in front of one of these sanctuaries.

Sometime in the 3rd century the stone blocks of the column were broken in half and used to enhance the riverside walls. Over the centuries the shore of the island were constantly being expanded, so that the yard of the 3rd century, now a few dozen meters from the present river bank is located ( Kruta 1883). On the original site of the Gallo- Roman temple Childebert was in 528 that of St. Stephan cathedral built, replaced in turn by 1163 was the Cathedral of Notre- Dame de Paris.

The column was discovered on March 6, 1710 (and not in 1711, as is often wrongly stated) when you docked a crypt under the nave of the cathedral. The inscription was first published two years later by Charles César de Baudelot Dairval. Not all pieces have been recovered, and so missing for three of the blocks today for the lower halves. After its discovery, the blocks were brought to the Hôtel de Cluny, a spiritual house from the Middle Ages, which was in turn built on the remains of Roman baths from the second century. This building now houses the Musée National du Moyen Age.

In his posthumously published work Collectanea etymologica ( 1717) has Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz attempted an interpretation of the inscriptions and reliefs. In addition to correct assignments ( Tarvos Trigaranus, Cernunnos - he, however, is to Bacchus ) are some guesses refuted today ( Esus is equated with Ares and a fictional Germanic god Erich ).

In 2001, the blocks have been restored and freed from their patina that had formed since their discovery ( Saragossa 2003). The reconstructed column is in the museum.